When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Trea Turner this past offseason, it meant Bryson Stott was going to move to second base on a full-time basis this year. It was a move that many felt would be a smooth transition for the young infielder.
Stott played shortstop for most of his Minor League career and during the second half of last year in the big leagues, including the postseason. While he didn’t look like a future Gold Glover at short, he held his ground. That’s what made people confident he could handle second, a position he logged 372 innings at in 2022 for the Phillies.
Stott has gone on to do more than handle his new position. He’s been one of the best second baseman in the NL this season in terms of defense, meaning he has a serious case to win a Gold Glove.
Stott has played the most innings at second base of any player in the NL with 1,212 1/3. His putouts (226) are also first, while his assists (330) are fourth-most. On top of that, the 25-year-old’s five errors and .991 fielding percentage are third-least and second-highest, respectively, when it comes to players who have logged at least 700 innings at second.
Stott has shown the ability to flash his leather on multiple occasions. His passing of the eye test as a great defender is clearly backed up by the more standard fielding statistics. It’s also backed up by some of the more advanced fielding stats.
In his 1,212 1/3 defensive innings this year, Stott has the fourth-most outs above average (15) in all of the baseball, good for a tie with Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs for second-most among NL second basemen, only trailing Thairo Estrada (17) of the San Francisco Giants.
Furthermore, Stott’s six defensive runs saved are tied for third-most in the NL at his position. Meanwhile, his 3.6 ultimate zone rating, a stat that assigns a run value to a player’s defense, ranks first.
Lastly, Stott’s SDI, or SABR defensive index, which is used in Gold Glove voting and was last updated on Aug. 13, is second in the NL at 6.4, trailing only Ha-Seong Kim (8.3) of the San Diego Padres.
There are other players in the mix for the NL’s Gold Glove Award at second base this year. The previously mentioned Hoerner, Estrada and Kim all have solid cases. But one thing that separates Stott from the rest of those guys is the fact that he appears near the top of every statistical category, both standard and advanced.
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